Toolhead wedge



Jan. 30, 1951 c. ss -r'r 2,539,719

TOOLHEAD WEDGE Filed April 29. 1948 JE EL, 58 26 5/ i atenteci jan.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TOOLHEAD WEDGE Roy 0. Bassett, Danbury, Conn. Application April 29, 1948, Serial No. 23,943

' 2 Claims. 3 (c1. soa -33) My invention relates to wedges for connectin tools and handles therefor.

The main purpose of my invention is to provide an improved wedge for fastening tools to their handles.

A further purpose of my invention is to construct a resilient wedge which is inserted into a handle and to secure the tool to the handle.

A further purpose is to form a wedge with longitudinal resilient armswhich carry laterally projecting fingers for connection between a tool handle and a tool.

A further'purpose is to groove the interior of a tool head for engagement .of laterally extending fingers of a wedge member to form a permanent connection between the tool and its handle.

A further purpose is to use a resilient wedge unit in which the entering surfaces of the wedge are tapered for easy insertion in a tool handle.

fastening the tool to the handle.

A further purpose is to precut the end of a tool handle with arcuate surfaces which a resilient wedge will engage to force lateralextensions of the wedge laterally into slots or recesses formed in the tool to lock the tool permanently to the. handle. 7A further purpose is to provide a resilient Wedge' with a center transversely extending knife which is driven into the wood of the handle when the wedge is put to place to hold the tool and the handle together.

Further purposes will appear in the specification and in the claims. 1

L-have found it desirable to provide a Wedge unit for securely fastening tools such as hammers, axes, picks, sledge hammers and the like to their respective handles in such a manner that the tools themselves will not become detached from? both sides of the wedge unit I8.

their handles for thelife ofv the handle.

Referring to the drawings:' T

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation partly in section showing a hammer head secured toa handle with my improved wedge driven into place; in the head and in the handle.

Figure 2 is wedge.

Figure 3 is a detailed elevation of the wedge shown in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary side elevation, partly in section, similar to Figure 1 but shown with the wedge in the act of being inserted in a slot in the end of a handle and with the wedge sides making engagements with the hammer.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective of the to show one form only of the different forms that my invention may assume. However, I have illus'" trated a form which is practical and convenientfor insertion and which will meet the need of,

service.

-In carrying out my invention I have found it' desirable to precut the head end of a handle as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 4.

The handle I0 is precut at H in the form of a slit; This slit extends approximately the dis-.1

tance of the height of the tool and its handle engaging flange l2 integral with the tool E3, in

the present instance shown as a claw hammer The center portion of the handle in the slit or precut portion H is arcuately curved outwardly" at M and [5 on both sides of the center starting down fromthe end of the handle about onethird of the total height of the slit. The arcuate" portions 14 and I5 curve outwardly to the side edges of theyhandle to approximately the bottom of the flange l2 of the head. 4

The tool has .the usual handle socket 13, which ll on both sides of the: handle near the'bottom for reasons hereinafter is recessed at [5 and described.

My improved wedge I8 is constructed of com- 7 paratively thin steel or other metal and is resi1ient and has laterally extending arms [9 and 20-" "Midway between the arms l9 and 20 and extending outwardly and downwardly therefrom is provided a knife wedge 21' which extends from b I have found it desirable to arcuately curve the bottom portions 28 and 29 of the center web member 30 of the Wedge. This will leave a comparatively thin extension 3| on each of the knife ':.members 21.

a perspective View of my improved.

The wedge arms 2i and 22 are tapered to produce a knife 32 at the bottom. The ends 33 and 34 of the knife wedge 27 are also tapered as clear ly shown in'Figure 3 to engage the sides of a tapering handle socket.

In Figure 4 I have shown my wedge in the act of being inserted into place to form the proper fastening of a tool and handle. In this view the wedge I8 is approximately halfway in the precut slot H and the downwardly extending arms 2| and 22 have been inwardly flexed due to the The inner surfaces of the hooks 23 5 resiliency of the wedge. It will be noted that the hook ends 23 and 24 engage the interior walls 35 of the handle socket of the tool.

By forcing the wedge further into the slit II the arms 2| and 22 will have their arcuate edges 25 and 26 engage the arcuate portions l4 and I5 of the handle due to the arcuate shapes in the center of the slit H, the arms 2| and 22 will gradually be forced outwardly and will also spring outwardly, and will finally have the hooks 23 and 24 engage in the recesses I6 and l! in the tool itself. It will be noted that the interiors of the recesses l6 and I? are cut angularly at 36 and 31 for proper locking engagement by the hooks 23 and 24. This permits subsequent tightening of the wedge by driving it in further.

It will be obvious that when the wedge is driven into place as described and the arms 2| and 22 have their hook ends engage in the recess that it will be very difficult for the tool to become separated from the handle.

In the meantime the knife wedge 21 will be forced into the solid end portion of the handle at right angles to the slit l I.

It will be evident that the slot II can conform as closely as desired to the sides of the arms of the wedge and can be itself of wedge configuration to the extent desired.

To aid in providing firm seating of the upper end of the wedge, the upper ends of the arms l9 and are also made of wedge formation at 38 and 39 so that they will tend to straighten the motion of the wedge as it approaches its position of seating and frictionally engage against the walls of the handle socket.

In operation the handle will normally be preslotted as shown but will otherwise be imperforate so that the knife wedge 2! will strike into unslotted wood on either side of the slot I l. The handle will be fully inserted into the socket of the tool, and then the wedge will be driven in. The first action will be for the outer curve and 26 of the forward edges to cam the arms 2| and 22 inwardly, thus flexing the arms as shown in Figure 4, especially at the portions 28 and 29, which are comparatively thin. The wedge is then driven into the slot II and will, of course, begin to expand the sides of the slot to some extent as it moves down, depending upon the point where it comes into tight jam engagement with the sides. Evidently, the forward edge of the knife wedge 21 will contact the end of the handle on either side of the slot II and drive into the handle, separating the parts of the same and spreading them laterally. When hook ends 23 and 24 have moved far enough down they will contact the upper portions of the recesses 14 and [5, on the wedge or slope portions 36 and 31. At the same position the arcuate portions 25 and 26 will jam against the curved walls I4 and I5 of the slots at and 4|, and after embedding themselves slightly in the wood the wedge will come to rest in seated position, preferably with the hook ends intermediate the length of the slope ing upper walls 36 and 31 of the recesses l6 and IT. This is the initial position of the rest of the wedge. In the process of reaching this initial position the sloping outer ends 33 and 34 of the knife wedge 21 will frictionally engage the inte- 4 rior of the handle socket, and also the sloping outer ends 38 and 39 will similarly engage the interior of the handle socket.

If after reaching the initial position, the wood should shrink or otherwise readjust and it is desirable to drive the wedge in further, this can be accomplished, and the hook ends will move down further along the sloping upper ends 36 and 31 of the recesses i6 and I7, allowing the arms 2! and 22 to expand further and spreading the upp r portion of the handle to a greater extent.

In view of my invention and disclosure variations and modifications to meet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident to others skilled in the art, to obtain all or part of the benefits of my invention without copying the structure shown, and I, therefore, claim all such insofar as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of my claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a tool or the like, a tool head having a handle socket provided with wedge engaging recesses, a handle extending into the socket having a slot in the handle provided with curved walls, and a wedge having a wedge portion whose opposite edges are wedge shaped as well as its sides, having wedge arms resiliently connected to the wedge portion, the arms having opposite edges which are wedge shaped as well as the sides and having hook ends on the arms which are arcuately curved at their forward edges, which engage in the recesses of the handle socket and which jam against the curved walls of the handle socket.

2. In a tool, a tool head having a handle socket provided with opposed recesses having outwardly sloping walls directed toward the end opposite to the end from which the handle enters the socket, a handle extending into the socket, the handle being slotted and having opposed sloping walls in the slot opposite to the recesses, a wedge in the socket wedging apart portions of the handle and having a wedge portion, wedge arms resiliently connected to the wedge portion, and hook ends on the arms provided with curved forward edges which engage the curved walls of the slot in the handle, the hooks engaging the sloping walls of the recesses in the handle socket.

ROY C. BASSETT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 428,421 Shaw May 20, 1890 654,943 Butler July 31, 1900- 811,502 Herzog Jan. 30, 1906 990,460 Skelton Apr. 25, 1911 1,480,985 Bittner Jan. 15, 1924 1,575,465 Thompson Mar. 2, 1926 2,005,353 Spezzano June 18, 1955 2,242 859 Glover May 20, 1941 2,428,238 Padgett Sept. 30, 1947 

